Death Toll From Typhoon Saomai Rises to 295

China's official Xinhua news agency says the death toll from last week's Typhoon Saomai has risen to 295, and the number is likely to increase.

Xinhua says Tuesday that most of those killed lost their lives when the typhoon destroyed ships in the port city of Fuding, in China's southeastern Fujian Province. Others were killed in floods and landslides in Fujian, Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces.

The agency described Saomai as eastern China's most powerful typhoon in five decades.

China has experienced eight typhoons this year, which have caused nearly $1.5 billion in economic losses. Xinhua says the storms have affected more than 40 million people in six provinces and flooded more than 1.5 million hectares of farmland.